Residents Protesting Vernon Apartment Plan With 2 Petitions

VERNON, CT — Residents opposed to a proposed 56-unit multi-family development at 195-209 South St. have garnered about 120 signatures to present to the Vernon Planning and Zoning Commission at a Thursday public hearing. A second petition signed by abutters could add a wrinkle to the regulatory process.

Nancy Steffens, whose circa 1860 home on South Street overlooks the 6-acre parcel in question, showed off the petition from her front porch Monday. Santini Homes has requested a zone change from residential to multi-family to accommodate the South Street plans. Santini currently has hundreds of contiguous apartments in a stretch of Vernon that runs from the back end of the parcel, across Vernon Avenue and Across Route 30.

"We hope the PZC denies the request," Steffens said. "It does not comply with the town’s zoning or development plans."

Steffens said two petitions will likely be in the hands of the PZC at its public hearing Thursday — the one circulated among the general population that will have about 120 names and another signed by better than 20 percent of the abutters, which could force a two-thirds majority on the part of the PZC to approve a site plan.

Thursday's meeting is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. Santini representatives were to meet with residents at the 6-acre parcel Monday evening to review the plans.

A petition against a multi-family development in Vernon (Chris Dehnel/Patch)

Residents of the area also plan to submit a detailed sheet listing their opposition points.

The transcript of the sheet is below:

• Traffic and safety: Fifty-six additional apartments will increase traffic on a residential street that already serves as a popular through way to Henry Park, Interstate-84 and Vernon's commercial areas. New sidewalks on South Street have added pedestrian traffic, with multiple crosswalks requiring people to cross the street multiple times. Increased safety hazards based on a single entrance/exit and poor sight lines. The developer recognizes that sight lines are not adequate and unsuccessfully tried to purchase adjoining property to flatten out the road. While sight line requirements were determined using the 30-mile-per-hour speed limit, the developer's traffic study found that the average speed is 44 miles per hour going eastbound and 39 miles per hour going westbound. Traffic often exceeds 50 miles per hour.
• Town vision: The zone change is not consistent with the 2012 Vernon Plan of Conservation and Development. The plan notes that Vernon's housing stock has a high percentage of multi-family housing and could be balanced with more ownership and single-family housing opportunities. The POCD also sets a goal to "increase homeownership ppportunities," and to "retain zoning patterns which reserve appropriate areas of the town for single-family homeownership." Even as far back as 2001, Vernon's earlier POCD raised the same issue with this statement: "In sum, the changes in the Vernon housing inventory and the demographic characteristics of the Town since the last plan update suggest that on matters of housing, the direction for the next ten years is 'steady as you go', with an emphasis on increasing the percentage of homeownership within the housing inventory and addressing the growing needs of the elderly population."
• Sound development: Section 4.27.8.6 of the town’s Zoning Regulations requires that "The application must ... not hinder the future sound development of the community." The impact of increased traffic and resulting safety concerns threatens the future sound development of our community, and therefore does not meet the regulation requirements.
• The past and present: 1996: The developer first tried to change the zone in 1996 but many residents voiced opposition and the town planner noted: "With more than 40 percent of the town’s units being multi-family, there is a legitimate question as to whether more multi-family units are needed." Since then, the 2010 Census shows Vernon has more than 48 percent of rental units, and in the last few years, even more apartments have been built. 2016: Vernon has a success story a short distance down the street that represents an excellent example of how a developer can the use existing residential zoning to create a beautiful housing development that enhances our town and meets consumer demand. Jen Drive, built several years ago, features 20 homes that sold very quickly, each for about $400,000. And the taxes they bring to this town are substantial.